National Republican., 1887-10-17
FOUNDRY'S ANNIVERSARY.
CHURCH HOME FOR SEW
ENTY.Two YEARS PAST.

Sketch of the First Structure and snb-
se1uent improvements Pastor Elliot
Discourses on Gods Love for tho
Home of His People.
Yesterday the congregation Of Foundry
Methodist EpIscnpal Church celebrated
very quietly the seventy-secoud anniver-
sary Of the founding Of the church. The
first structure built on the site was erected
In 1915. The lot was given and the major
portion OF the expense OF building was paid
for by Mr.. George Foxall, Of Georgetown.
This liberallty was In the nature OF thank
offering for the protection vouchsafed by
Providence to the donor, who owned and
operated large iron and brass foundry.
He cast a number Of guns for the use OF his
fellow. countrymen in the war OF 1912, aud
when the British forces invaded this city
and burned the capitol and other public
and private buildings Mr.. Foxall fully ex-
pected that his foundry would be destroyed.
His fears, however, were not realized, and
\ when the "piping times OF peace" sue
| ceeded the "alarums OF war' he expressed
bis gratitude by spending considerable
sum Of money on the very modest
place OF worship which was put up on the
COlhCi VI TOuEttCubu anu VI fbTttbb. lubEb
| were two reasons for christening 1t "Foun.
dry;" one was suggested by Mr.. Foxhalps
business and Its strange escape, and the
other came from the fact that John Wee
ley's famous meeting house in London had
originally been foundry; when the church
was organized by him he still retained its
old appellatlon. In 1876 the congregation
was too large for the building, so the struc.
ture was remodeledin that year, andits out
| ward appearance was somewhat improved.
| Here the members worshiped until 1854,
and then 1t was decided to erect q new
church, the present fine building being the
result. 1t was completed 10 1866, and Is
Lemuel Williams, member Of the church,
remembers, with much distinctness, the
building of the fret unpretensive hall, and
one Of the trustees told reporter yester-
day that there were several persons yet
| alive who were members OF the church in
1912. Many distinguished preachers have
been pastors OF Foundry, among them be-
ing John Emory, Beverly Waugh, and Jesse
I. Peck, all Of whom were afterward
| bishops.
Yesterday morning the pastor, Rev. DR..
| Elliot, preached to q large congregation
from the S7th Psalm, I'd verse, "The Lord
loveth the gates OF Zion more than all the
| dwellings OF Jacob"
| "The compari,on," said the preacher, sis
one OF the strongest that could possibly be
made, for Jacob was chosen people, Israel
| was select nation. For no other people
had He done such mighty works; they were
the elect, the chosen Of God, led out with
mighty hand and an outstretched arm. For
them great miracles had been wrought,
and when the text declares that "The Lord
loveth the gates Of Zion more than all the
dwellings OF Jacob" the statement Is as
strong and positive as He can make It. God
loves all the things He has made. God
is love, and Gods love, as revealed In His
care for nature, means love for man. The
In Gods spelling book, In which man is to
study out his Makers greatness and love-"
"God loves the homes Of his people. He
| looks down on the homes where welded
love has come together, and He cares; He
looks down on the school houses where
children are trained, and God cares, forhere
characters are being shaped; He looks down
on Washington, this beautiful city, on the
capitol with Its grand dome piercing the
clouds, 1t is the home Of law; He doesn't
like everything that is done there, but he
cares; He looks down on the shops and
factories. and cares, for God loves honest
labor; He looks down on the tents Of war,
where nation struggles with nation for
some principle or no principle; He loves
them all, but above all he loves the gates Of
Zion; and while he loves all homes he looks
with especial care on Christian homes, from
which rises song and prayer; He loves the
church, His peoples great home"
"You may. say you can worship as well in
the groves OF the forest mid the beauties Of
nature. That is not so. 1 have been on
the mountain top when day was declining,
when Gods great altar fires were extin-
guished and some invisible hand lit up the
tapers before tho unseen shrine, but / eau
worship God with more heart from between
the walls of humble meeting house.n
| N(,nl'g plnrrh ppgt e0mafhinu. a. toni
1000 years to clear away the ground on
which to build; 1000 years of toll In re-
moving the rubbish. And then the build
ing! Into the very mortar that sealed the
foundations was the blood of God, aud in
every succeeding course was the blood and
the tears OF the saints and martyrs. II is
not finished yet, but II will be, and oh, 1t will
be grand, with its gates Of pearl and walls
Of jasper-splendid above and beyond com.
parison. God loves the church for what it
has cost him. Beyond the beauty of flow
ere, the fragrance of groves, the grandeur
of mountains, the sublimity of seas, God
speaks to the world through his church,"
"Man has been forced to higher mental
activity by the Church of Christ. During
all that period that we call the dark ages
oil the knowledge In the world was In the
church, poor as 1t was. Out OF the reform
alton came new light and learning, and out
of the great Methodist revival OF the last
# Oub VI tuC WOIh VI LHc ltuLlOTLdl
Wesley and his coadjutors, came the gran
deur and intelligence of the nineteenth
century.
"It is an imperfect church; there are
many imperfect church members. People
outside say Il am as good as these church
members and want to tell you something
l don't want those folks to hear 1T is some.
times true.' 1t ought not to be true.
"The church is incomplete. 1t is only
halfway up. You cannot see the building
for the workmen and the scafrvlding and the
rubbish. Those who saw the rough stone 10
the quarry and the unhewn cedars that were
being felled on Lebanon might have said,
what kind Of material Is that to put In the
great templeg' Wait. One day the huge
smooth blocks, the beautifully carved
cedars, the costly tapestry, aud magnificent
furniture were all put in place, and when
the capstone was put In place what shout
was raised; the structure was complete.
When some apparently rough man is taken
into the church people say, 'What rough
material, picked up out OF the gutter.'
Keep still. Christ is hewing aud polishing,
and one day when the fire OF burning worlds
shall destroy the scaffolding and the rub
bish the church VIII stand In all its great
ness and beauty grandly and glorlously
| complete"
DR.. Elliott concluded remarkably elo-
quent sermon with an appeal for more love
for the church.
|
| EVERYBODY knows we are manufacturers,